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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Will monitoring my glucose levels help prevent eye problems if I have diabetes?

    Related Topics
    Endocrinology Type 2 Diabetes
    I have type 2 diabetes and want to keep my eyes healthy. Will improving my blood glucose levels help?
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  • Michael Kline

    Exercise Physiologist, Exercise Scientist

    I am an accredited Exercise Physiologist and have worked with a variety of clients including chronic disease, general population, athletes and corporate/workplace. To give a … View Profile

    There are many complications that are associated with Diabetes. Monitoring your BS levels will give you an indication on how effective management of the condition is going (i.e. meds, exercise, diet etc). Improving your BS levels using meds, exercise and good diet will certainly reduce the risk of associated eye and other conditions such as retinopathy.
    If you are experiencing symptoms such as

    • Floaters and flashes
    • Blurry, blocked or dim vision
    • Poor night vision
    • Halos around lights or sparkles
    • Sensitivity to light and glare
    • Need for brighter light for reading and other activities
    • Distortion or ‘holes’ in vision
    • Frequent changes in eyeglass prescriptions

    and you have not had your eyes tested, do so!!

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  • Olga Lutzko

    Credentialled Diabetes Educator (CDE), Diabetes Educator

    At ‘Succeed in Diabetes’ we believe in helping you achieve your success in diabetes management. Olga has thirteen years experience in helping clients with insulin … View Profile

    monitoring blood glucose levels will help  in preventing eye problems such as retinopathy in diabetes. The ability to check BGl's will allow the client to see how they a re managing their diabetes in the correct range ie 4-6mmol\L pre parandial. The better the levels the less chance of any complications occuring such retinopathy.

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    Thanks

    Carolien Koreneff

    Counsellor, Credentialled Diabetes Educator (CDE), Diabetes Educator, Psychotherapist, Registered Nurse

    Carolien Koreneff is a Somatic (body-oriented) psychotherapist, Health Coach, Counsellor as well as a Credentialed Diabetes Educator with over 20 years experience. She currently sees … View Profile

    Monitoring blood glucose levels does not prevent eye disease per se, but can help in understanding how well controlled the BGLs are and hence provide information as to whether or not medication changes may be required.  Keeping BGLs within the target range  (generally this will be between 4 and 8 mmol/l) will help reduce the risk of complications of diabetes, including eye disease.  I believe that the biggest contributor to the development of retinopathy is fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Having regular meals, speading carbohydrates out across the day can help in keeping BGLs more stable and hence reduce the risk of eye disease.
    As Michael before me has commented; if you have any symptoms at all it will be worthwhile to arrange an eye review with your optometrist of ophthalmologist. I would like to add that most retinopathy in early stages remains asymptomatic and hence I would recommend to all people with diabetes to get your eye check at least every second, but preferable every year. Retinopathy that is discovered in early stages can in some cases still be reverted, but advanced changes often require laser treatment and leave lasting changes. Prevention is still better than a cure!

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